Coal in the Stocking for SSI Claimants

The Senate voted today to pass the budget reconciliation bill according to this Washington Post article (may require registration). This bill would require staged payments of back SSI benefits that total more than three months of benefits at the full SSI rate. The budget reconciliation bill is not final. Some small changes were made in the Senate from the House of Representatives version of the bill. These changes do not affect SSI, but the bill must go back to the House of Representatives for final passage. That will not happen until after the Christmas recess, but it is unlikely now that anything could derail this bill.